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Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Ouja

If you're looking for a Kamen Rider series to ease you into the world of S.H. Figuarts, Kamen Rider Ryuki is not the series I'd recommend. With 13 Riders, 2 powered up forms and an extra "Rider", it's one that could push you right down the rabbit hole - not just because most have been seen at various Tamashii events, but also because half of them are Tamashii web exclusives. However the big four - Ryuki, Knight, Zolda and Ouja are comfortable purchases and considered by many to be the best the line line has to offer. While Ryuki and Knight included their respective contract monsters and Zolda comes with an impressive arsenal of weapons, Kamen Rider Ouja was not so fortunate. Psychotic criminal Takeshi Asakura isn't one to rely on a great deal of weapons, and his contract monster Venosnaker was saved for the impressive Genocider set. Can the figure stand on its own merits?

(Oh, and for Kamen Rider Dragon Knight fans I should mention that this is Kamen Rider Strike).

The packaging is a fairly basic silver, with the name printed in appropriate foil purple lettering. Since I've never mentioned it on my blog before, I shall address why it says "Masked Rider Ouja" rather than "Kamen Rider Ouja". Due to licensing issues I'm not fully aware of, any character prior to those that appear in Kamen Rider W have "Masked Rider" printed on their box instead. There, now that that's covered we have the back of the box, which features the usual action poses as well as a shattered mirror look. Y'know, since the Ryuki battles take place in the mirror world.

One thing I really like about the Ryuki riders is the use of vented visors over the traditional compound bug eyes (well, Ryuki himself has both), and the distinct armoured look each of them have. Being based on a snake, Ouja is one of my favourites and the figure sculpt pulls the suit design off really well. The purple is noticeably a lighter shade than that on the actual suit, but has a fantastic metallic sheen to it (see the pictures I took with the flash on). The gold and silver detailing compliments it nicely, the "raised" sculpted sections in the matte black body give it that extra bit of depth. Some in the past complain of the silver "ports" falling off the figure (as with many other Ryuki riders) but at the time of writing I'm yet to encounter that problem. A nice little extra feature is that the Advent Deck is removable from the belt, but as you can expect its too small to actually house any cards inside.

Articulation is to the usual Figuarts standard, but with a few little things to note. Firstly while the shoulder pads are hinged, the suit design means that they get in the way of the torso armour - resulting in slightly-less adequate shoulder articulation. Not a huge deal breaker, but certainly something worth noting. The other point to raise is that the Ryuki figures do not feature the swing-down hips that have become the norm for most Figuarts, instead opting for more conventional balljoint pieces. They may take some getting used to, but actually feel far less fiddly and more natural than the swing-down hips.

While I mentioned earlier that Ouja does not come with his contract monster Venosnaker, that doesn't stop the figure coming with everything else it needs. Included are 14 pairs of hands, the Veno Visor sceptre, the Veno Saber and a selection of six Advent Cards. The level of detail on the Veno Visor is excellent, and the top even slides open to fit in your choice of Advent Card. The cards included with the figure are

2 blank contract cards

Advent

Steal Vent

Sword Vent

Final Vent

It's a bit sad that they're all Venosnaker release cards, but that gives you even more reason to pick up a Kamen Rider Raia or Gai to have him steal from.

It's true that Ouja may not come with as many accessories as the other big names of Kamen Rider Ryuki, but truth be told he doesn't need them. Ouja was my first dip into Ryuki Figuarts and it's astonishingly clear the effort that has gone into these figures. But not only is Ouja a fantastic figure that represents the very best of the Figuarts line, he's a badass snake Rider who is one of the very best villain Riders the franchise has to offer. How much more can you want than that?